<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Dear spectre subscriber,<br><br>We wanted to draw your attention to our upcoming edition, The Dark Universe taking place from 21-24 February 2013 in Amsterdam, for which the early-bird offer for professional accreditation started today. The early bird fee for professionals is €50 until 12 January (instead of €65 when regular presale starts on 13 January) - if you want to sign up now, follow this link: <a href="http://2013.sonicacts.com/professional-accreditation/">http://2013.sonicacts.com/professional-accreditation/</a><br><br><br>AND HERE ARE A FEW REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD REALLY NOT MISS THE FESTIVAL:<br><br>We are happy to announce that the festival starts with the ninth instalment of freq_out at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. freq_out 9 is sound installation comprising 12 individual sound works, each utilising a specific frequency range, made on site, and amplified to act as a single, generative sound-space. Including: BJNilsen, J.G. Thirlwell, Jacob Kirkegaard, Jana Winderen, Maia Urstad, Kent Tankred , Finnbogi Pétursson, PerMagnus Lindborg, Christine Ödlund, Franz Pomassl, Mike Harding, Tommi Grönlund & Petteri Nisunen and Carl Michael von Hausswolff.<br><br>Also confirmed are vocal magician Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje and master of light HC Gilje with their stunning audiovisual performance for voice, electronics and LED screens. Ratkje and Gilje left a deep and lasting impression with their duet in October 2012 at the Kontraste festival in Krems.<br><br>And last but not least Biosphere, Lustmord and MFO will team up with their new collaborative performance Trinity. Using sound and image they explore the first nuclear weapons tests in the New Mexico desert. For this Lustmord and Biosphere travelled to the White Sands Missile Range and Los Alamos in the US to research and make field recordings at the start of 2012.<br><br>The Sonic Acts conference kicks off with a keynote lecture on the opening night on Thursday 21 January at the Stedelijk Museum, and continues at NASA (New Art Space Amsterdam) until Sunday 24 February. Scientists, theorists and artists will discuss imaginative methods to explore the unknown, and uncover the dark aspects of the universe. On Friday the focus will be on science (cosmology, physics, astronomy) and space exploration. Dark geography and the shady side of global finance are amongst the topics on Saturday. Science fiction and possible future scenarios are the subjects on Sunday afternoon. Confirmed speakers include theoretical physicists Gerard ’t Hooft and Raphael Bousso, sociologists Saskia Sassen and Andrew Pickering, Geoff Manaugh of BLDGBLOG, and science and science fiction writer Simon Ings.<br><br>And if you're in or close to Amsterdam on Saturday 12 January 2013, you might also want to join us for The Dark Universe exhibition opening in collaboration with NASA and Viral Radio at New Art Space Amsterdam (NASA). <br>The Dark Universe exhibition shows works by various artists that stimulate our senses and explore the boundaries of our knowledge. The exhibition presents works by Félicie d’Estienne d’Orves’ (FR), Matthijs Munnik (NL), HC Gilje (NO), Ivana Franke (HR), Matthew Biederman (USA), Semiconductor (UK), Justin Bennett (UK/NL), Juergen Reble (DEO and Yolanda Uriz Elizalde (ES). <div><br>The opening party starts on 12 January at 21:00 hrs with live performances by Peter Swanson and Raime, Cut Hands, Lee Gamble & DJs. Join us for a great performance evening in collaboration with Viral Radio and NASA, celebrating the exhibition opening and the festival kick off! <br>More on: <a href="http://2013.sonicacts.com/12-january-2013-opening-exhibition-of-sonic-acts-at-nasa/">http://2013.sonicacts.com/12-january-2013-opening-exhibition-of-sonic-acts-at-nasa/</a></div><div>The exhibition runs from 13 January until 24 February 2013 at NASA (former SMART Project Space).<br><br>Info on all confirmed artists can be found at our new website: <a href="http://www.sonicacts.com/">www.sonicacts.com</a><br>The full festival programme will be announced early January 2013.<br><br>We're looking forward to a great festival edition and hope that you will take part in it!<br><br>The Sonic Acts Team<br><br>Sonic Acts / Weteringschans 6-8 / 1017 SG Amsterdam / Netherlands<br><a href="mailto:info@sonicacts.com">info@sonicacts.com</a> / <a href="http://www.sonicacts.com/">www.sonicacts.com</a></div></body></html>